clueless newbies

Of course, newbies are clueless. They are new. Why is this always harped on by "the pros from Dover?"

Snow skiing, Calculus, noding, most of us have trouble with complicated new ideas when we first start them. Do we need experienced people to tell us "you look clueless"- do you imagine we don't know that? Is that some sort of fraternity night hazing ritual?

Newbies, by definition are confused and do the wrong thing, often repeatedly. Many of them take correction well, and most take compliments well. If they are consistently rude, stupid and difficult to deal with, it is probably because they are that sort of person. Period. Some people insist on being unhappy. So be it. For the rest, let's all try the old standby:

A lot of newbies are generally new to the thing they are doing (usually just being on the internet) not just rusty on it, and you can tell the difference. Complacency also has an unsightly hold on the newbie intellect - they think that they can instantly get the hang of something new, no matter how complicated, and complain incessantly when they fail.

Take, for example, me. I am most definitely a newbie, and I am no good at it. I complained a lot and expected to be able to node perfectly the first time I tried, but had a well deserved run-in with Klaproth.
Another aspect of newbie outlook is naiveté, which many wallow in, like I did. They think that everything they say is relevant, interesting and useful.Thankfully newbies are not like that forever - they get better, write more insightful nodes, get better at skiing or whatever they are trying to perfect. Hopefully the same will happen to me, as newbieism is not an easy habit to shake off - once in the rut you get used to it.

One of the most hated aspects of newbieism is their constant use of 1337 speak. This combination of bad spelling, grammar and text-message talk is hard to decipher at first, and the joke wears thin quickly. I beseeche all user of 1337 speak to convert to the universal, easy-to-understand English language

A lot of people who are accused of being newbies are actually lamers, except that people find it hard to define between good luck and pure beardiness.